General Amherst grad looking to work with NSHS on football exchange

Jon Mouskis-Morrison shows a ring earned during his playing days at General Amherst High School.

A General Amherst High School graduate was back in town last week and is working on a possible exchange program for football players at the current high school.

Jon Mouskis-Morrison was at North Star High School May 13 where he met with principal Kyle Berard, a former teacher of his. Mouskis-Morrison said he has done a lot in the 21 years since he graduated from high school, and now lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Mouskis-Morrison played football during his time at General Amherst and was on the 2004 team that got to the WECSSAA Newman Conference final before losing to a strong Herman team. He now coaches football in Australia, specifically the Northern Chargers, where he is known as “Coach Moose.”

“We call it gridiron,” Mouskis-Morrison explained. “Football can mean a lot of different things in Australia.”

The senior men’s Chargers team won their league championship and he said that program is branching out.

“We’re starting up a junior program as soon as possible,” he said.

The Chargers are involved in an exchange program and welcome football players from North America to head to Australia while Australian players would play in North America. When Mouskis-Morrison learned Berard was back in Amherstburg as principal, he wanted to visit him while he was visiting home and run the idea past him.

“We’re looking into the mechanics of how we can do it,” said Mouskis-Morrison. “It’s still very much in its infancy and we want to make this happen.”

His music career eventually led Mouskis-Morrison to Australia and he is still working in the music industry there. His love of football never left him and he refers to himself as “a football guy” with football as a second career for him.

Mouskis-Morrison recalled that 2004 run the General Amherst Bulldogs went on, winning against a talented Sandwich team at Sandwich before narrowly losing to Herman.

An exchange program would be great for players aging out of football locally, as they could still play in Australia and see another beautiful country to boot. He said no experience is necessary and it is a chance to have fun and enjoy a great sport.

General Amherst grad looking to work with NSHS on football exchange

By Ron Giofu